Artificial intelligence and patent law in Ukraine: challenges for the legal system

Abstract

The article examines the legal features of the interaction between AI and the intellectual property rights protection field, particularly in patenting the results created using autonomous or semi-autonomous algorithms. The article aims to analyze the current challenges for the patent system of Ukraine in connection with the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its active use in creating new technological solutions. Methods. The methodological basis of the study was a systematic and comparative legal analysis, which allowed comparing Ukrainian practice with the approaches introduced in the US, EU, UK, and World Intellectual Property Organization recommendations. The study results show that significant legal gaps impede the effective functioning of the patent protection system in the context of the rapid development of AI technologies. First of all, the lack of defined mechanisms for objective and legal assessment of the creative contribution of AI to the process of creating a technical solution was revealed, which makes it impossible to properly establish the circumstances of the emergence of intellectual property rights. There are also no transparent procedures for fixing and verifying the source of origin of patented objects, which allows for the avoidance of proper disclosure of information about the use of AI in developing an invention. On the law enforcement side, the author reveals that the current patent examination procedures are not sufficiently adapted to the analysis of atypical technical solutions generated by AI and that there is no established practice of considering such cases in the judicial system. The article offers recommendations, including improving the legal criteria for determining authorship in human-AI interaction. The author emphasizes the importance of gradual harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with international approaches formulated in the practice of such jurisdictions as the EU, the USA, and the UK, as well as within the framework of World Intellectual Property Organization activities. The conclusions of this study demonstrate the critical need for a comprehensive update of Ukraine's patent legislation, given the active introduction of AI into innovation activities. First and foremost, it is necessary to develop clear legal approaches to determining authorship in AI, acting as a tool or even an autonomous participant in the creative process. It is also essential to introduce transparent requirements for disclosing the circumstances of the use of AI in the creation of an invention and to improve the mechanisms for expert analysis of such decisions within the patent procedure.